Three policemen have been killed and eight others injured in Egypt when a police vehicle was attacked by a rocket-propelled grenade in the restive North Sinai governorate, the Interior ministry said today.

Pakistan was "cooperating closely"with India on the investigations in a terror attack case on a key air force base in Pathankot earlier this year, the country's top diplomat has said. 

A 50-year-old man beaten up by a mob for allegedly stealing a pair of sandals later died in police custody in upper Assam's Lakhimpur district. Juga Baruah was yesterday assaulted by a mob for allegedly stealing the sandals from a house in Simaloguri village, Deputy Commissioner in-charge Dibakar Doley said.

The water storage available in 91 major reservoirs of the country as on February 04, 2016 was 59.335 BCM which is 38% of total storage capacity of these reservoirs. 

Congress today mounted a sharp attack on West Bengal's ruling Trinamool Congress alleging Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Prime Minister Narendra Modi "are two sides of the same coin" and a vote for one is a vote for the other.

Akola in Vidarbha region of Maharashtra today recorded highest temperature of 44.7 degrees Celsius, the Regional Meteorology Centre here said. 

President Barack Obama today opposed the Congressional legislation bill that would allow 9/11 victims to sue Saudi Arabia, arguing that this would expose the US to similar lawsuits in other countries, hours after White House threatened to veto the proposal.

A second postmortem conducted on Kirpal Singh, the Indian prisoner who died in a Pakistani jail, says that there were no external or internal injuries on his body.

Dr Ashok Chawla, head of the panel who conducted the postmortem said, "Don't find any kind of foul play in this case."

Singh's first postmortem was done today at the Jinnah Hospital in Lahore, after which the body was handed over to India.

The family members of Kirpal Singh had on Friday met Home Minister Rajnath Singh to express their concerns over the gruesome treatment meted out to Indians languishing in Pakistani jails.

Kirpal Singh's family had earlier rejected Pakistan's claim that he died of a heart attack and demanded a postmortem to ascertain the true facts behind his sudden death.

Facing protests, the government on Tuesday kept in abeyance for three more months the proposed move to bar withdrawal of employer's contribution to the provident fund corpus until the employee attains the age of 58 years.

"The notification (tightening PF withdrawal norms) will be kept in abeyance for three months till July 31, 2016. We will discuss this issue with the stakeholders," labour minister Bandaru Dattatreya told reporters. His announcement comes in the midst of protest by labour unions in several parts of the country against the bar on withdrawing employer's contribution from the PF money.

A YouTube video showing the mayor making these statements recently surfaced and is causing an uproar in the Phillipines. Read

My dear Chetan,

Your open letter to Kashmiri youth - we exchanged only a few brief notes on Twitter - encourages me to write one back to you. Let's first list the stuff we broadly agree on.


You're absolutely right that the army has a massively difficult and thankless job fighting a battle not of its choosing or making, especially when any solution must be political and not militaristic. I have no disagreement with your argument that Pakistan is hardly the ideal alternative as an imagined homeland, especially given its rising extremism and the sheer fragility of its democratic process. And there can be no two views on the return of Kashmiri Pandits to a land from which they were forced into exodus."

Read the full letter here.

Embattled Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif today left for Pakistan amid a raging scandal back home over his family's offshore wealth after the Panama Papers leak mentioned his children's name for having shell companies.

Sharif dashed to the UK last week for "medical treatment" amid reports he was under immense pressure to quit over the unfolding scandal, that mentioned the names of his two sons and a daughter as having shell companies through which they owned expensive residential properties in London.

If you're headed to London in the next few days, catch this.

A replica of an 1,800-year-old iconic Palmyra Arch destroyed by dreaded Islamic State terrorists in Syria has been erected at Trafalgar Square in London today as part of an initiative to raise awareness about the common universal heritage.


"Palmyra's Arch of Triumph" has been made by carving stone to the exact shape of the original working from a database of 3D photographs collected by the Institute of Digital Archaeology (IDA). It will stand in London for four days to coincide with World Heritage Week. The replica, which cost 100,000 pounds and weighs 12-tonnes, will then travel around the world, visiting New York's Times Square and Dubai, before being taken to Syria. "It is a message of raising awareness in the world. We have common heritage. Our heritage is universal - it is not just for Syrian people," said Maamoun Abdulkarim, Syria's director of antiquities.


The original arch was built by the Romans and destroyed as the world watched in May last year when ISIS captured Palmyra by using dynamite, bulldozers and pickaxes to destroy a series of monuments at the UNESCO World Heritage site.


In October last year, ISIS destroyed the 20-foot 'Arch of Triumph', which had been described as the "jewel in the collection" at the Palmyra site. Palmyra, and its complex of ancient ruins, was recaptured at the end of March this year.

Just in: Bail plea of juvenile who was driving a Mercedes that mowed down and killed a man rejected by Juvenile Board. The JJB says the juvenile is a repeat offender. "Parents gave him a car which endangered lives of others, it's bad parenting," it says.


The Class 12 student accused of the hit and run The boy surrendered last week after turning 18, which was four days after the accident. His father was also arrested but he was granted bail. The boy is now in a juvenile home.


The teen was allegedly driving at 80 km an hour when the car hit marketing consultant Siddharth Sharma in the Civil Lines area on New Delhi.


The 32-year-old was hit so hard that he was flung 10 feet into the air. CCTV footage showed that there was no sign of the driver trying to avoid hitting him or even slowing down.


The teen had moved for bail when he came to surrender, but the court said the Juvenile Justice Board had to decide.


The police also arrested the man who claimed to be the actual driver of the Mercedes at the time of incident but backtracked after knowing Siddharth Sharma had died. He was charged with providing false information.


The boy's father has been charged with abetment to culpable homicide not amounting to murder.

A protest by garment industry workers turned violent in Bengaluru today forcing the police to resort to lathicharge and tear gas shelling to control the mob. The workers were protesting against change in provident fund withdrawal rules.


Hundreds of workers blocked the busy Mysore-Bengaluru highway leading huge traffic snarl. Police had to use force to control the mob after they started pelting stones and burnt several buses and other vehicles at various spots at Hosur road, Tumkur road and Jalahalli.

Bengaluru has dozens of garment factories employing over 5 lakh workers. Workers have been protesting for over two months now against curbs put in place on withdrawal of money from their provident fund accounts.

The government had to withdraw its budgetary proposal to tax a major chunk of PF contributions following a huge protest from the Opposition and public.

However, garment industry workers are confused over the new PF rules which will come into effect from May 1.

JUST IN: NIA to send Letters Rogatory to Pakistan in Pathankot terror case. It will also hand over addresses of 4 JeM terrorists.

Air India is expected to report an operating profit of Rs 8-10 crore in FY 16, the first since the erstwhile Indian Airlines was merged with it in 2007, a senior executive confirmed to FE. Consequently, the state-run carrier's losses would be limited to around Rs 2,600-2,800 crore, significantly lower than in FY15 when they were Rs 5,574.47 crore. 

Detectives investigating the case of Madeleine McCann believe the missing girl could still be found alive, nine years after her disappearance.


Madeleine went missing from her parents' holiday apartment in Praia da Luz on the Algarve in Portugal in 2007 at the age of three. The high-profile case has been closely documented but despite extensive police investigations in both Portugal and Britain there has been no progress in finding the child or a culprit. Read more

Just in: At the Wagah border, Indian officials receive Kirpal Singh's body.
The body of the Indian prisoner who died in a Pakistan jail under mysterious circumstance will be taken to the Integrated Check Post for documentation and other formalities. The body will then be taken for an autopsy to verify the actual cause of death. The Pakistan government has said that Kirpal Singh died of a heart attack, but his family refute the claim.

On April 15, family members of Kirpal Singh met Home Minister Rajnath Singh, who assured them of all help to bring back his mortal remains.

Kirpal Singh, 55, was found dead under unknown circumstances at Kot Lakhpat jail in Lahore on April 11. Pakistan authorities, however, have ruled out any foul play and have claimed that Kirpal complained of chest pain after which he was admitted to a hospital where he was declared dead.

Singh was languishing in the Pakistani jail for nearly 25 years on spying charges.

Pic: Public outcry over Kirpal Singh's mysterious death has led to the government stepping in and asking Pakistan to handover the body. Another autopsy will be performed in India after the one in Pakistan.

Death toll jumps to 28 in Kabul attack: police chief.

The suspension of Vijay Mallya's diplomatic passport by the Ministry of External Affairs, within a week of his failing for the third time to heed an Enforcement Directorate summons to appear in connection with a money laundering probe, is a prompt and appropriate step. Read more

"Duleep Singh was not in a position to give it away because he was only a minor of about 3, 4 years old. The Indian claim of the British having taken the Kohinoor from the Sikhs does not stand because the Sikhs too took it by force."

Author, columnist, historian William Dalrymple sets the record straight in an interview to Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff.com. Read

The Instigator: A Portrait of Nivedita Menon, the JNU professor,who became a powerful figure of dissent against the Hindu right. Read

Fried brinjal is as much as part of Bengal as Tagore, but, once upon a time, the vegetable was deeply unpopular, thanks, in part, to Lord Shiva. Read

Dinesh Trivedi is enjoying an election holiday because the MP from Barrackpore has been asked by his party leadership not to take part in the campaign.


Is he being punished for being the one Trinamul MP who refused to entertain Narada? Ask the former railway minister this and he answers with a smile.


What this break has allowed him is the time to sit back and ponder over the political reality of Bengal and beyond. "The election process is on... but never mind, I'll speak," Trivedi told The Telegraph on Monday afternoon at his Ballygunge home. Read more

The postmortem of Kirpal Singh, who died in a Pak jail, was done at the Jinnah Hospital in Lahore, Pakistan.

The mortal remains of the Indian prisoner who died under mysterious circumstances in Lahore's Kot Lakhpat Jail, will be handed over to India today.

Family members of Kirpal Singh had on last week met Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh to express their concerns over the gruesome treatment meted out to Indians languishing in Pakistani jails.

The Home Minister, after the meeting, assured them that all concerns related to the bringing of the body of Kirpal Singh back from Pakistan will be properly addressed.

External Affair Minister Sushma Swaraj had earlier assured the kin of Kirpal Singh that India would get his body back home.

Kirpal Singh's family had earlier rejected Pakistan's claim that he died of a heart attack and demanded a post-mortem to ascertain the true facts behind his sudden death.


Pic: Kirpal Singh's body being loaded into a vehicle in Lahore.

Eight accused have been awarded death penalty by a Kolkata court today in connection with the brutal murder of college student Sourav Chowdhury in Bamangachhi of North 24 Parganas.


After the 21-year-old student organised a protest against illicit hooch dens run by a local miscreant in the area, he was abducted on July 5, 2014, and later murdered.


Shayamal Karmakar, Amal Barui, Ratan Samaddar,Tarak Das, Suman Sarkar, Suman Das, Somnath sardar and Tapas Biswas were awarded the death sentence.


Meanwhile, the other accused Rakesh Barman, Poly Maity, Ratan Das and Sishir Mukhopadhay were awarded five years imprisonment. All the 12 accused had been convicted by the Barasat court last Friday.

Dipa Karmakar, who will become the first Indian woman to compete in an Olympic gymnastics competition, got a shout-out from Prime Minister Narendra Modi today.


"Just yesterday, a daughter of India brought fame to the country at the Rio Olympics," the PM said in a speech to students at Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University in Jammu, referring to the qualifying event held this weekend that allows Karmakar to claim her place at the Olympics. "These incidents set examples, give us strength," the PM said.


After becoming the first Indian woman gymnast to qualify for the Olympics, Dipa Karmakar has set her eyes on a podium finish at the Rio Games scheduled to be held in August. The 22-year-old garnered a total score of 52.698 points in the Olympics qualifying event on Sunday to book a berth for artistic gymnastics in Rio Games.


It is a good feeling to win a gold medal, Dipa was quoted as saying at the official Facebook page of the International Federation of Gymnastics. My next objective is an Olympic medal podium, she said after clinching the gold in vaults finals at the test event of the Rio Games. The Tripura girl scored 14.833 as her best effort to finish first in the womens vaults finals at the Rio Olympic Arena.

Kolkata Court pronounces death sentence for eight persons in connection with the murder of a college student, Sourav Chowdhury in 2014.

"We went for dinner at her parents home in California, only there was a power cut, so we ate an incredible tandoori meal by candlelight. Anoushkas mother is an amazing cook, and Ravi was an incredibly sweet conversationalist. We talked about films, travel, everything. He was fascinating.

The next morning, I came downstairs alone we had, of course, been consigned to separate bedrooms and he was at the kitchen counter. He asked if I had slept well, then said: Do you wash every day? I told him yes. After a pause, he said: All over, or just hands and face? The Indians think the British dont wash very well, you see. So I was relieved that my ablutions met with approval."

That's Anoushka Shankar's husband, filmmaker Joe Wright, talking about his life and Ravi Shankar in an interview to the Sunday Times.  Read

Curfew-like restrictions were relaxed in violence-hit Handwara town for four hours today but remained in force in Kupwara and Trehgam towns of north Kashmir, police said.


"Restrictions have been relaxed for four hours in Handwara town from 8 to 12 noon. The relaxation period can be extended if the situation remains peaceful," a police official said.


He said so far the situation in violence-hit town was peaceful. However, there was no relaxation in the curbs on the movement of the people in Kupwara and Trehgam towns in view of apprehension of violence.


The restrictions were eased yesterday for three hours but had to be clamped again following violent protests. Curfew-like restrictions were imposed in Handwara town and some adjoining areas following violent protests over the alleged molestation of a girl by an army soldier last Tuesday.

Three persons including a woman were killed in firing by security forces on protestors on Tuesday while two more persons were killed in separate security forces's action against protestors on Wednesday at Drugmulla and on Friday at Nathnusa.

Municipal authorities in violence-hit Handwara town in north Kashmir today removed three security force bunkers from the main market, fulfilling one of the long pending demands of local residents.


"Three bunkers, which were constructed on top of shops in Handwara main market, have been removed by municipal authorities," a police official said.


He said the main bunker, located in the round-about of the main market, has also been vacated and taken over by municipal authorities. "This bunker will also be demolished and the task will be completed by 2 pm today," the official said.


The municipal authorities also erected a board on the premises of the bunker, marking the place for conversion into a public park. The locals had been demanding removal of the bunkers for quite sometime but the Army had put its foot down, saying it was strategically important for the troops. However, the demand for removal of these bunkers intensified after last week's violence triggered by alleged molestation of a girl by an army soldier. Three persons were killed in security forces firing while dealing with the protestors.

Officials confirm at least 161 people injured in today's suicide bombing in Kabul, says Afghan Media.

The blast in Kabul took place in Wazir Akbar Khan neighborhood, one of the most affluent districts in the Afghan capital, a few hundred meters from the presidential palace, known as Arg. Also major Afghan security agencies, including the headquarters of the International Security Assistance Force and the Defense Ministry, are located in the area.

Pic: The Taliban has claimed responsibility for the blast.

Taliban claims responsibility for Kabul suicide blast. 

Esmatullah Kohsar @EKohsar  tweets this picture of the blast in Kabul, "Kabul blast: my office windows totally broke."

Afghanistan's Tolo News says, officials have confirmed at least 24 people killed and injured in this morning's suicide bombing in Kabul.

ANI reports that a suicide bomber detonated an explosive-laden vehicle in Kabul outside Secret Service unit responsible for protecting VIPs. Gunfire ongoing.

Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani said, the attack was apparently targeted at the offices of Afghanistan's main security agency. The Presidential Palace condemned the attack "in the strongest possible terms" and said in a statement a number of people had been killed or wounded. A spokesman for an emergency hospital in the city said the facility had received eight lightly wounded Afghan soldiers.

The Afghan Intelligence Office could have been the primary target for the bomb explosion in Kabul today. Early reports say 24 people have been killed and many injured.

The explosion rocked central Kabul early on Tuesday and photos have emerged showing a thick plume of black smoke rising from the vicinity of the sprawling US embassy in the Afghan capital, Reuters witnesses said.

The US embassy and NATO headquarters said they were not affected by the blast.

Gunshots were heard in the area where the explosion happened, local witnesses reported.

The powerful explosion came during the morning rush hour, a week after the Taliban announced the start of its annual spring offensive.

A Reuters witness near the scene also reported hearing gunfire more than half an hour after the blast. Kabul police also reported some gunfire immediately after the blast.

Several major Afghan security agencies are based in the area, including the national directorate of security. The ministry of defence and the presidential palace are also within a few hundred metres.

Warning sirens blared out from the US embassy compound, which is also close to the headquarters of the main Nato-led mission in Afghanistan. There was no indication of the source of the blast, but rocket attacks remain relatively common in the city.

The US embassy said it was not affected by the blast. The Nato military coalition also said it was unaffected.

The blast rattled windows several miles away and sent a plume of thick smoke rising in the sky.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but the Afghan Taliban last Tuesday announced the start of its so-called spring offensive, even as the government in Kabul seeks to bring the insurgents back to the negotiating table to end their drawn-out conflict.

The Taliban warned it would "employ large-scale attacks on enemy positions across the country" during the offensive, dubbed Operation Omari in honour of the movement's late founder Mullah Omar, whose death was announced last year.

The annual spring offensive normally marks the start of the fighting season, though this winter the lull was shorter and the Taliban continued to battle government forces, albeit with less intensity.


Pic: Plumes of smoke rise from the city centre of Kabul where the explosion took place.  The picture was tweeted by ‏‏@mogtabajawady1

Barely a few hours before the arrival of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday morning, BSF troops in Samba sector foiled an infiltration attempt by terrorists from Pakistan side.

Sources said that alert BSF troops at Chilmark border out-post noticed two terrorists moving in Pakistani territory near the IB at around 6.30 am.


Pointing out that they were proceeding towards Indian side, sources said that as they reached near the border, BSF troops opened fire forcing them to retreat.

PM Narendra Modi is in Jammu and Kashmir to formally inaugurate the 230-bed Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Narayana Super Speciality Hospital, officials said on Monday.


The facility has been set up by Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board at a cost of Rs 300 crore near Katra in Reasi district, an official said.


Free of cost OPD services and diagnostic tests started at the hospital from March 15. The hospital became fully functional from April 8.


"The hospital is equipped with state-of-the-art computerized equipment to provide best possible diagnostic and treatment facilities to the patients," the official said.


This is Modis third visit to Katra shrine since he took office in May 2014.

I am looking forward to being in Jammu and Kashmir tomorrow where I will attend a wide range of programmes and interact with citizens, Modi tweeted on Monday.

Pic: The PM inaugurates the Shri Mata Vaishnodevi Narayana Super Speciality Hospital in Katra where CM Mehbooba Mufti was also present.

A loud explosion has been heard in central Kabul's Puli Mahmood Khan area. Plumes of smoke seen, warning sirens are emanating from the US embassy in Kabul. People on social media reported that gun fire could also be heard in Shahr-e-Naw area of Kabul. 

A day after taxi aggregators Ola and Uber suspended the practice of raising fares, 18 of their cabs have been impounded by the Delhi Transport department for overcharging. 

That was the defence of a man who led the assault on the Presidency University student for wearing shorts and smoking on Friday night.  

The mortal remains of Kirpal Singh, the Indian prisoner who died under mysterious circumstances in Lahore's Kot Lakhpat Jail, will be handed over to India on Tuesday, according to sources. Family members of Kirpal Singh had on last week met Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh to express their concerns over the gruesome treatment meted out to Indians languishing in Pakistani jails. 

The Maharashtra government is set to enforce a five-year ban on sanctioning new sugar mills in the drought-hit Marathwada region, which is facing a severe drinking water crisis. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will arrive in Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday on a daylong visit. A special plane carrying the prime minister will land at the technical area of Jammu airport around 9.00 am. 

India and China have moved a step closer in setting up a hotline between the two military headquarters as part of their efforts to improve border security. China reacted positively toward setting up a military hotline with India on border security, Chinese Defence Minister Chang Wanquan said after meeting his Indian counterpart Manohar Parrikar. 

Doris Roberts, who played the tart-tongued, endlessly meddling mother on 'Everybody Loves Raymond', died at the age of 90. Roberts died overnight in her sleep, spokeswoman Janet Daily said. The cause of death was not immediately known. 

The signing up of actor Amitabh Bachchan as the brand ambassador of Incredible India has been delayed and the reason is likely to be the appearance of his name in the Panama papers controversy.